


Family First

by mtac_archivist



Category: NCIS
Genre: Drama, Episode Related, Established Relationship, F/F, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Not Episode Related, Not a Crossover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-09-08
Updated: 2008-09-08
Packaged: 2019-03-02 06:20:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13312281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mtac_archivist/pseuds/mtac_archivist
Summary: When Fornell is forced to investigate Tony for The Frog's death, they both stand to lose everything.





	1. Ch 1

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Jessi, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [ MTAC](https://fanlore.org/wiki/MTAC), an archive of NCIS fanfiction which closed in 2017. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after August 2017. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator (and this work is still attached to the archivist account), please contact me using the e-mail address on [ the MTAC collection profile](http://www.archiveofourown.org/collections/mtac/profile)

  
Author's notes: Special Thanks: Anna, who inspired and understands our twisted minds. Thanks for the idea and the beta!  
Disclaimer: Not ours. If so, they'd always be unclothed and in bed ;)  


* * *

Tobias Fornell sat in his car for almost a half hour before gathering the strength to deal with what he’d find behind those doors. He’d violated every rule of his relationship—family first. He could lose everything.

Tobias held the folder securely and walked to the door, turning the knob and finding resistance. This was not good. When any of them were home, the door stayed unlocked. He tried his key but it wouldn’t fit.

Had they changed the locks? This was not good at all. Just as he was preparing to knock, his cell phone rang. “Diane?”

“Tobias. I have Emily with me. She wasn’t feeling well. She’ll be with me through the weekend. Feel free to come over then. That nice assistant of yours brought her home.”

Assistant? He didn’t have an assistant! “Let me say hello, Diane.”

“Daddy?” Emily sounded a little subdued but fine.

“Everything okay, honey? Who brought you to your mom?”

“Superman and Batman, Daddy. Batman was really sad and he hugged me real tight.” 

It was all making sense now, and not in a good way. “Okay, honey. I’ll call you later. I’ll tell the superheroes you said hi. We love you, Em.”

If they were talking to him, and that was a big if. They’d changed the locks, sent Emily away. He had to face this but it wasn’t going to be pleasant. He knocked on the door a few times.

“Toby. Wondered when we’d see you. I brought Emily to her mother’s. She doesn’t need to see this.”

He’d expected Jethro to be upset but he was unprepared for the coldness and the sarcastic bite to the other man’s words. “Jethro. Where is he?” Jethro had planted himself in the doorway, but Tobias brushed by him, barely stopping even when Jethro jolted him against the wall.

“What makes you think I’m ever going to let you get near him again, Tobias? After what you pulled today.”

Tobias threw the folder Jethro had been asking about all day on the side table. “Because we’re family, Jethro.”

“Yeah, family first, Toby. How dare you? How dare you put Tony through that? I knew you could be a bastard sometimes, but this beats all.”

“I don’t owe you an explanation, Jethro. I owe one to Tony.”

“Who is packing. He’s leaving, Fornell. Ya happy about that? We’re losing him. Do you hear me? After five years, he’s leaving us because of what you put him though. He’s leaving me too. Not just you. Me, and Emily. How is she going to live without Batman, Toby? Was your precious job worth it? Your investigation worth the collateral damage of Tony’s heart? Emily’s?”

“Jethro, berate me all you want, but later. Right now, I need to speak with Tony. Look at your damn file. Maybe it’ll make sense.” With one shove, he moved past Gibbs and up the stairs, into their bedroom. Tony’s back was to him and he could tell from the other man’s posture that he wasn’t doing well. He hesitated for only a moment, before squeezing Tony’s shoulder.

“Please don’t leave, Tony. Hear me out first.”

“You said everything that I wanted to hear back at NCIS. What else do you think I’ve done that requires me sitting and listening to you? Have I left the toilet seat up? Left socks a foot from the laundry hamper? Maybe I broke Em’s teacups and since we all know that’s a federal offense, it would give you the right to grill me again.” 

Every word hurt, and yet from Toby’s perspective, Tony was completely justified. “I don’t want to grill you, Tony.”

Tony whipped around, furious that he was the one being put on trial once again. “Maybe if you ask nicely Jet will build you an interrogation room, with the one way mirror so you can have your little feebs over to watch you interrogate me again of something stupid. Oh wait, you can do that at will at work. You fucking knew I didn’t kill the Frog. I was with you and Jet the whole damn night, but you had me taken into custody anyway. So what else do I need to hear from you? Your actions have spoken loud and clear.”

“How about that I love you, Tony? How about that everything that went on there was being watched by Vance and my superiors, who want to take the three of us down? Don’t think I liked or wanted to do that. I never doubted you for a minute and I’d hoped you could see the truth in my eyes. I had no better way to convey it. If I had, I would have done anything to spare you the pain of that.”

“A heads up would have been nice, a nod or letting Gibbs stay while you accused me of murder. I get it, you aren’t a nice guy at work, but you sent away my only support system.” 

Tony wouldn’t look at Tobias; he couldn’t let his guard down, not again. “I’m sorry if I wasn’t looking for the truth while I was trying to defend myself. I was a bit busy, but you should have known that. Things were going along just fine, until you decided to pin another murder on me. I don’t care about Vance or your superiors. I care about you. Or at least I did.”

Toby moved closer but stopped when Tony gave him a hate-filled look.

“Not my decision about Gibbs, Tony. Not my decision, none of this was my decision. I know who did it, we both do. Someone higher up than us schmucks made the decision to try to deflect suspicion off Madame Director. Jethro’s got the file, Tony. It implicated you both, and that is just the beginning. If he hadn’t shown up with Kort, he would have been the next one in custody. And I couldn’t protect you both. I know you couldn’t tell, but I was trying to be as gentle as I could be, for as long as I could be, without handing you over like a sacrificial lamb.”

Tony grabbed Toby’s shirt before thrusting him away. “That’s bullshit, and you know it. You weren’t being gentle, you were playing into what ever plan the higher ups had. Did you ever think that what you were trying to protect they already knew about?” 

The thought of the federal government knowing about his complex relationship scared the hell out of Tony. They were as careful as they possibly could be, but it wasn’t a perfect world. “Fornell, you were set up and you went for it hook, line and sinker. You let them manipulate you, and you went right on along with them.”

“I did what I had to do, with many sets of eyes watching my every move and hoping desperately that I’d fail and they’d get in our way. It wasn’t easy and I’m so sorry. I’m sorry, Tony.”

He reached over to touch Tony and then pulled back, stopping, hesitating. 

“I get it. You’re sorry. I am too, Toby. Sorry that you did what you did, I’m not sure I can forgive you and I know I can’t forget. I need time. Can you at least understand that?”

“Of course, I can. It’s just that in our business, you and I know we shouldn’t leave anything unsaid.”

Tobias sat on the edge of the bed. “Vance wants to take you and Gibbs down. Soon. How can I protect the two of you if I refused to investigate? I wasn’t asked; I was told, handed the file, informed that if I didn’t accept it, my pension would kick in when I turned sixty and to clean out my desk. I was with agents from that moment onward, even when I went to the bathroom. Jethro’s got the file, Tony, and my report and findings.”

He paused for a long moment rubbing a hand over his face. “I’m not doing this any more. It was my last case. I’ve resigned effective immediately. If protecting you by hurting you means that I lost you, I understand. But I will never be put in that position again.”

“Great, so you attempt to ruin my career before giving yours up? That makes no sense. You weren’t there to help me Toby, you sure as hell didn’t do me any favors. I was hung out to dry, and you were there giving me a push into the wind.” 

“I was trying to do everything I could to protect you, Tony. It may not seem that way but they put the screws to all of us.” And he’d gladly given up his career and his pension—which had been part of the deal—to keep Tony and Gibbs’ relationship safe. “Someone had to go down and it wasn’t going to be you.”

“Not this second, but they’re going to come back after me. And you and Jet too, give them a chance. Come on, you can’t imagine that this is really over just because you say it is. If they want to take any of us down, they won’t stop until we’re all gone.”

“Not me, Tony. I cut a deal. They bury what they know about you guys for ten years, they get my pension.” It was all he’d had to offer to protect them both. “It gets Jethro his pension and gives us time to figure out something to do with your career.”

“You gave up everything, to turn around and torment me? It makes no sense to me. What the fuck was in that file that has you walking away from a lifetime career in the FBI, leaving your pension behind?”

“I gave everything up afterward, Tony. I tried…I tried it their way. Sometimes the sum is greater than the parts.” And he was not going to allow the pictures, the audio, the video, to be plastered all over every government and law enforcement website.

“You and Jethro and me…That night, we’d been drinking. The car… Pictures. They have pictures of everything, Tony. Every x-rated thing we did under the cover of night was monitored. And that is just one set of pictures they have of us. Audio tapes, even video when we had that getaway. A lot of our…events. Things in Jethro’s and my past. Diane…we could all lose Emily.”

“And they’re using this murder to out us? I still don’t get why. We’re the good guys, sure some of the things we do are illegal in some southern states, but we catch the bad guys and actually keep them off the streets. What does it matter what we do behind closed doors? Or even in a car on a back road. Don’t they have bigger fish to fry? You know the sort of fish that live in caves and blow up buildings?”

“We’re mavericks. They’d love to have something like this over us,” Jethro put in. “They’ve started trying to divide us, break us from within. And it’s working. Ya gonna run too, Tobias?” Jethro asked at the door. “Both of you run away, leave Emily with questions I can’t answer. Thought family came first. Didn’t see that today, Toby. Not seeing that now, boys.”

Jethro crossed the room, physically removing Toby’s hand from Tony’s shoulder, squeezing the other man’s hand to the point of pain. “What happens now is up to Tony, but if you ever hurt him again—and I don’t care about your reasoning—it will be the last thing you do. Ten years together be damned, Tobias. Nobody hurts ours, even each other.”

Jethro leaned against Tony, just brushing his body in a gentle caress. “I’ll live by any decision you make, Tony. The folder is downstairs. I looked at it and I’m taking Vance down soon. That is my battle, not yours and sure as hell not Fornell’s. Vance has been after me for a lot of years. But nobody is going to fuck with your career if I can help it. Not on my watch.”

“You’re the one who saved my career. You proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that I didn’t do it. Apparently being home on the couch with an FBI agent and a NCIS Agent isn’t enough. It’s not like I could bring Emily in to vouch for me. How does one explain that I was hanging out with the kid of the man who was accusing me of murder. I wouldn’t do that to Em, she doesn’t need to know her father is a jackass.”

“But, if you want…” Jethro lowered his voice. “He’s still our jackass. But only if you want, Tony.”

“I really don’t know. I’m mad, I need to think it out, Jet.” Could he let go of Tobias and Emily? They had become major fixtures in his life. “I’m so furious, I don’t think that right now is the time for me to decide. I don’t want him here this second, but I don’t know that I want him gone forever.”

Jethro tipped Tony’s head up. “I’m always here, whatever your decision and whatever you need. Don’t worry about losing me or disappointing me or whatever else is going through your head right now. And by God, Tony, Emily is here for you too. She’d be incomplete without Batman. Whatever happens, you have me and Em, as long as you want us.” 

Jethro paused, his hand running through Tony’s hair. “You want some time alone or some time with him?”

“I don’t know what I need right now. Maybe I should head back to my place for a little while. I knew there was a reason I was keeping my apartment still, besides the fact I haven’t been able to convince you to let me move my flat-screen plasma in here.” Tony allowed the gentle caresses, knowing that he may not get another chance at this. 

“I don’t want to go, but I’m not sure I can handle this right now. If I take off out of town, even though you cleared my name, it will look bad. But here, I can’t stay. You two, you two need to work out your own issues, without me involved.”

Jethro nodded his head, making the only decision he could to protect Tony. “Fornell, you need to go. Now. Immediately. Get lost. It’s over, understand me? I’ll pack up Em’s things, talk to Diane about us continuing to see her. I am her godfather after all.”

He lifted his chin, staring right at Toby. “I’m choosing Tony, Fornell. I’ll get you a storage locker and have your stuff dumped there. Leave the file here but you go. You’re not welcome in our home or our family any more. Good riddance.”

He heard Toby’s pained gasp but by that juncture he’d already turned back to Tony and refused to react. “Here. You have to stay. I need you, Tony. And you need not to be alone.” He pulled the younger man into his arms, hanging on tightly. “Stay, for me.”

Tobias knew Jethro could be heartless, even brutal, but this was the most cutting he’d ever been. Tears blurring his vision, Toby stumbled out of their bedroom and down the stairs, unlocking the gun cabinet and grabbing his personal gun. He had nothing left except this. He just had to figure out where to do it.

“Don’t make him leave. He’s lived here longer than I have, this is his house almost more then it is mine.” Tony didn’t want to be the reason why a long-term relationship imploded. “You’re mad, but you know you don’t want to do this. I’ll stay, just not in here. I’ll stay in Em’s room, she’s going to be with Diane for the next few days at least. Maybe by then, we’ll have figured something out. None of us can be out there on our own right now. Someone is gunning for us, and they’ll pick us off one by one. We can’t make it easy for them.”

Jethro had rarely been so furious, and never before at a lover. “I chose you, Tony. I chose you, babe. I don’t want him here and he can go to hell. He’s FBI; he can defend himself. He can deal with it. But Tony, if he stays here, I’m going to beat the crap out of him, or take him hard and I don’t want to do that. You want him back, you’ve got to call him and be the barrier between us and this is about you and not my anger. I won’t do that to you. I can’t be that much of a bastard.”

Jethro started to speak again, but two gunshots rang out, echoing in the air. “Toby!” Oh god, he hadn’t… “TOBY!”


	2. Family First Ch 2

Chapter 2

“Damn it? What did he do?” Tony rushed to the window, but didn’t see anything that looked out of order. “We can’t cut him out like that, Jet. We need to keep him safe, and it’s apparent that he can’t do it himself. We let him go, no matter how pissed we are, he’s going to do something stupid if he hasn’t already.”

Jethro thundered down the stairs, hearing Tony but not having the breath to answer. God…he hadn’t, had he? But it was entirely possible. Toby had just given up his career and pension, because of a stupid moment that had been monitored. 

Tony half ran, half stumbled down the stairs behind him and Jethro turned. “You stay here. If it’s bad…” And it would be. Headshot. Toby knew how to kill.

Jethro’s feet must have touched the stairs but he didn’t actually feel the ground. The doors to Toby’s car were closed, but there was no blood, even though Toby was slumped over the steering wheel.

Jethro yanked the door open. “Toby….why?”

Toby was so upset that he hadn’t even realized that Jethro and Tony were outside. “We already established that I wasn’t thinking. Why…”

Tony came running up behind Jet, pushing into the car between the door and where the other man stood. Checking for a pulse, he was relieved to find it was strong under his fingers. “He’s alive, which is more than I can say for him in an hour, because I might just kill him.” His lover was crying, which was understandable, Tony feel like crying right now too. But he wasn’t the one who had tried to kill himself. “What the hell were you thinking? Or were you not thinking again!”

Toby’s eyes widened at Jethro’s expression. “What? You didn’t think I…did you?” Toby tried to chuckle but he’d never seen Jethro so upset before. “Your tires. I didn’t want you following me to give me a second helping.”

Jethro stumbled away, bending over and throwing up before grabbing Toby by the jacket and throwing him against the car. “I thought you’d done it. You thought about it, didn’t you. Fuck you, Toby. I’m done. Tony needs us and you’re making this about you. You were always too damn good for them but you wouldn’t lower yourself to come work with us. NCIS was never good enough for the son of Jefferson and Elizabeth Fornell, what are you eighth generation fucking New England blue bloods?”

He was worked up now and wasn’t interested in stopping. “Money never equaled brains. Look at who you married. And Emily. You bastard, If you’d eaten your gun, how would Em have survived? How would Tony have managed? He loves that little girl as if she was his own daughter and he’s the only one of us who doesn’t have any legal standing with her. You fix that today, Fornell. With Diane and legally or I will hunt you down and fucking kill you.”

“That’s great, get upset because you think he’s dead, then threaten to kill him. Only in my life does that seem normal.” Tony rolled his eyes, he knew that Jet was still pissed, but this was almost impossible to pull off after thinking Toby was dead. But Jet had impossible down pat. 

“You judging me, Tony? I can’t deal with him right now. I’m too angry. You know where this’ll lead if I’m near him right now.” And sometime Toby liked to be punished, but Jet was beyond punishment and into full-on pain right now. And while he’d do that for fun, he wouldn’t use it as punishment.

He looked at Toby . “You want that. You want me to put you through what you just put us though. I can do it, Toby. And I’d enjoy it. Way too much. Thing about guys like me, DiNozzo, I don’t want to know. I just want him to fix his bullshit, for you and for Em.”

“And I’m upset because of what you were put through. I don’t like seeing ether of you in pain.” And Jethro had, today, now.

He turned to Tony, still in a blind fury. “You have to deal with him right now. I can’t even look at him. I’m going downstairs. Stay, go. But DiNozzo, get a pizza ordered or something and get back in, okay?” He strode inside and down to the basement, needing the feel of wood under his hands. They were all fucked, and he didn’t think Tony realized how bad it was.

 

“Yeah, let me talk to him. I still stand by what I said before he scared the hell out of us.” Waiting until Gibbs stormed off, Tony took a deep breath. “You’re staying. They’re coming after all of us, and I don’t want one of us out where they can get us. We’ll be harder to take down if we stand together.”

Maybe Tony didn’t quite remember what had happened that night, but the pictures were in the folder. Toby on his hands and knees, collared. Jethro himself leashed. They’d been screwing around, drinking, had been to a BDSM club. But it looked like DiNozzo had completely Mastered them, and that was why they had gone after him first. They’d never understand it was just a game. Not with the pictures they had. And those were only the beginning.

Toby just looked at Tony. “I don’t want you or him to be obligated, And I don’t want you to risk your relationship with him.” He wanted to touch Tony so badly right now, to reassure him, but he couldn’t. He tried to smirk, tried for a little bit of fire. “Should I sleep with the boat?”

Toby’s soul hurt right now. “I could leave him, as much as I love him. But you? You’re a different story. Always have been.” They’d both fallen deeply in love with Tony so deeply that it scared Toby. They’d tried a threesome relationship with Diane, and that was a disaster. But Tony had given them a second wind.

“I’m taking Em’s room for now, you can find a place of your own, although I’m willing to bet that Jet will be sleeping his girl for a few days. I’ll check with him, see if you can bed down in our room. Just don’t leave us. I’m mad…will be for a while, but I don’t want you out on your own, wondering if they’ve removed what ever problem they think you are. Maybe you can call Diane, have her take Emily out of town. One less piece of collateral damage we have to worry about while this all goes down.”

Toby closed his eyes. “You keep the bedroom, Anthony. I’d like to stay in Emily’s room, if there aren’t any objections.” Diane would gladly take Em away, Toby knew that, and she knew all the dirty secrets. She’d lived some of them.

“Check on him, and I’ll coordinate with Diane. Tony…thanks. For mediating…”

Tony looked at his side pointedly and Toby unloaded and handed over his weapon, closing his eyes.

“It was your room well before I ever came along. I’ve slept on the trundle in Em’s room a number of times, when both you and Jet were working and she was scared or had a nightmare. She won’t care, and when she comes back, she and I can make it a slumber party.” 

Tony had never wanted kids of his own until he’d met Emily Fornell, and she’d totally changed his view on little people in general. He could almost see himself being a dad, someday down the road. “Tell Em I love her when you talk to her. I was a bit distracted when we took her home, and I don’t want her to think I’m mad at her. It’s never about her, except I was afraid of losing her. We were both mad, I still am. But I don’t want you out there alone, especially after this stunt. Too close to really losing you for my own comfort level.”

Tobias cleared the emotion away. “She loves you, Tony. You mean the world to her, to all of us. When you’re calmer, you call. I’ll let Diane know that she’s to be allowed to speak to you for as long as she likes. She’s closest to you out of all of us.”

“Your ex-wife thinks I’m a manny, Diane isn’t going to let me just call up and chat when ever I want too. I’m the hired help, remember?” The former Mrs. Gibbs and Mrs. Fornell had been fine with the fact that her two ex-husbands were a couple, enough to give them primary custody of Emily. But adding a new member into the mix could be enough to push her to adjust the custody agreement. Tony couldn’t be the reason why that happened. “Today, you tell her that I’m not mad, just scared. I’ll talk to her when she gets home. I don’t think I can handle any more crazy emotions, and you know I’ll be in big trouble if our girl gets on the phone with me and starts asking questions I’m not ready to answer yet.”

“She will if I say she does, Tony. I’ll respect your wishes for now, but Emily needs her Batman.”

“Don’t do anything to fuck up your custody arrangement Toby. You two need Em as much as she needs you. I don’t want Diane to take you to court because of me.” He didn’t know what had gone down for the guys to get that kind of custody, but he wouldn’t screw it up. “I’m fine with being the manny, as long as you understand I can’t just call up and chat.”

“Diane won’t, Tony. She gets a good living from us, and she knows Em is happy with us. Don’t worry too much.”

“You’re calling your ex-wife to tell her that you brought another man into your relationship with her other ex-husband.” Tony didn’t know how Toby could be so calm about it all. He was a wreck and he wouldn’t even have to talk to Diane. “Excuse me if I’m a little nervous about how she’s going to react, and if she might take Emily away from us. Happy or not, Diane could be a real bitch about this.”

Toby walked slowly to the front yard, dialing Diane. Maybe it was time she was told how close they were to Tony and how Batman wasn’t a male nanny.

Diane snapped her phone open, amazed to see her ex-husband’s name on her caller ID so soon after the last call she had made. “You realize, if you had called me this much when we were married, we might have been able to save our marriage. It was one of the things I hated about being involved with federal agents, the lack of communication was appalling.”

“Di, it has been a really bad day, so I’d appreciate it if we can both be civilized. You need to take Emily on a vacation, someplace off the beaten path. Use the cards and ID in the safe. Take along a prepaid cell. But get going ASAP. Someone is gunning for your two ex-husbands and Tony.” He paused.

“Di, Tony is a part of us, just like you were back then. Em and he are very close, in a goofy big brother way.”

“It wasn’t me being uncivilized Toby, just honest. Isn’t that what you always said you wanted?” It didn’t surprise Diane that her ex husbands had found another person to add to their relationship. It’s how they had all started out, but in the end she hadn’t been able to be the third in an established relationship. When she got pregnant, she’d made them choose and she’d ended up divorced not once, but twice in the end. 

“Should I send along some sort of triad present? I’m not sure what an appropriate gift is for that. Maybe matching cock rings, or family-size industrial leather restraints? I’m happy for you two if it’s what you both want. If Em tells me the same story when we talk, while she’s with me, your new toy can see her whenever they want. Once we get back that is. I’ll call the office and tell them I’ll be out of contact for a while. You know how to contact me to let me know it’s safe to come home.”

“Diane, we had something really special once and out of respect for that I’m asking you to please not do this. Not right now, not today, not when things are so stressed and tense. I don’t want to be goaded, neither would you in my shoes. The FBI forced my hand, Diane. I’m retired, they get my pension. Jethro will cover for me until I get something else.”

“What the hell happened, Tobias? You’re normally so careful, you and Jethro have been together for how long and no one knows? All of a sudden, the FBI is onto you? Doesn’t make sense.” Diane watched her daughter playing tea party with her bears in the living room, oblivious to what was going on around her. “If I find out that Emily has seen anything, I can promise you, you and the rest of your merry men won’t see her again. If you have managed to spare her what ever drama you’re in the middle of, we’ll continue on with our arrangement as it stands. I don’t want to take her away from you, you and Jethro love her dearly, but I will if I have to.”

“Emily has never seen anything inappropriate, Diane. You know me and you know Jethro. There was an investigation, we were set up. I’d rather not go into it now but I will at a later date. I promise you that, Diane. We’ve always respected one another and you know that Jethro and I have always had Emily’s best interests at heart.”

This could not be happening. She could not be threatening to take their little girl away.

“That’s why you want us gone isn’t it? Shit’s about to hit the fan right?” Diane tried to curb the sarcasm, she had loved both Tobias and Jethro once upon a time, when she thought that she could handle the threesome thing. “I’m sorry, shouldn’t have said what I said Tobias. I know you two would do everything possible to protect Em, and that’s why you’re getting us both out of town. I’ll make sure she’s okay, and she’s going to hate being away from you and Jethro. You know she hates when she can’t stay with you.”

“I suspect as much, Diane. Neither Jethro nor I can allow any threat to continue unimpeded. It is one of the risks of our careers, Diane, and not our lifestyle. And I understand your frustration, Di. We’re dealing with a situation we will have under control very shortly. As soon as that is done, we owe you a spa weekend. I know you never anticipated or expected this, Di, neither did we. But interagency rivalries have cropped up and must be dealt with. It will all be okay, Diane. I promise.”

“I’ll take you up on the spa getaway. Even before needing to escape to make sure we’re not in a turf war, I could have used it. And for the record Toby, they can’t take your pension. You’ve got an ex-wife who gets half of it.” Diane knew she could keep the FBI tied up in red tape for years, and would if they boys couldn’t fix this problem. “Always remember, when in doubt of losing your money, call an ex-wife. We’ll always have a way to make sure our investment is safe. You can’t sign away something that isn’t yours, Tobias. Remember that next time you’re trying to send me to the poorhouse in my elderly years.”

“Your half you get, Di. Direct deposit, I believe. Mine is gone. You’re okay, honey. I would never allow my career and choices to determine your fate and lifestyle, or Emily’s.” Toby was incredibly touched by the way Di was trying to rally him. “I have investments, I’ll sell my house and find another smaller place, and I’ll be okay. Maybe consult or get a part-time job down the road to keep busy. It isn’t the money as much as the career.” And reputation.

“Don’t let them do it to you, Tobias. Fight them, and with Em out of town, it’ll be easier for you. Take out the bastard who is doing this to you.” It wasn’t about the money, she made plenty of it, didn’t even need the money that she was granted in her various divorces. “If you sell the house, I expect you to actually move in with Jethro and put the man out of his misery. You’ve hidden long enough, and if you had come out before now, you might not be in this situation. I’m not judging, just stating”

“Di…” Toby swallowed tears. “I think its over between us. I had to do some unforgivable things to our third—Tony. Jethro broke it off. I don’t know if he’ll take me back. I rather doubt it. He’s protective of Tony—as am I—and I had to hurt him so much today. Accusing him of murder. Taking a bond he had with another and twisting the knife in. For the sake of their careers and mine, I thought at the time. It is very complicated and I just don’t know what will happen. But I’ll stay in touch, you call the contact number, which is Batman’s—Em will explain. Thanks, Di. We may not have made it but…I think we do a pretty good job parenting our girl.”

“You know how Jethro is. He needs time to brood and grouse about it, but he’ll realize what you did and why you did it. Don’t you give up on him, trying to be all noble. I know how you work Tobias. Make the grand sacrifice then slink off because you don’t feel like you deserve any happiness. Emily needs her dad and her papa, and apparently her Batman, which is slightly disturbing.” She was probably old enough to be the boy’s older sister at the very least, and picturing him in spandex and vinyl wasn’t going lead her anywhere good. “So I expect you to make this work.”

“I’m trying, sweetheart. I’m trying so hard. Ten years, Di, and we’re just as invested with Tony. Thank you. And for the record, she calls Tony “Batman” all on her own. Not our idea. And do you think Jethro would willingly term himself Superman? That is all our little girl’s mind at work.”

“Probably the only person in the world to get away with that.” Diane wouldn’t go down the road of reasons why Jethro had more than earned the nickname, she’d long ago given up trying to turn one ex against the other. “Tell him that I said he had to stop being himself and to feel something for once. Do you want me to call him and tell him myself? Seriously, you’d think after all this time you two could figure things out faster.”

“Would you? It couldn’t hurt, Di. It might help. He’s never been one who was able to share being the hero. Maybe that is the problem.” But Toby knew it was protectiveness, from Jethro’s perspective he had tossed away their family, even if it was his nobility that was the cause of their problem.

“I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t mean it, Tobias. What better way to top off a day than to get a call from your ex-wife. We’re on good enough terms, it wouldn’t be exactly out of the ordinary for me to call.” When her second divorce was finished, she’d sworn she wouldn’t ever get involved in Jethro and Tobias’ relationship again. Too much trouble to be caused doing that, and she didn’t want to be the one blamed for breaking them up. But this was for her daughter, not for the two men who had been such an interregnal part of her life. “Let me get Em packed, I’ll call from the airport. He has to listen to me. Just don’t tell him I’m calling. I don’t want to tip him off and have him not take my call at all.”

“Okay, Diane, We’ll be in touch then. Take care of yourself and Em.” He wouldn’t say he loved her, though there was easy and genuine affection there. And gratitude right now. He disconnected the phone, sitting on the top step, thankful that DiNozzo and Gibbs hadn’t seen their flats yet, though they knew

Jethro looked up as a shoe scuffed at the top of the basement stairs. “Come on down, Tony. You know you’re welcomed here.”

“I know that, just wanted to give you enough time to know I was coming down. I didn’t want to get shot for not clearly announcing myself.” Tony came down the stairs, sitting on the bottom one where he was able to see Jet clearly. “Pizza’s ordered, will be here in a half hour or so. Toby’s staying, where should I put him? He offered to take the basement, but I wasn’t sure if you were planning on being down here or not. I suggested he take the room, but that I’d check with you first.”

Jethro looked at Tony, running all the possibilities through in his mind, hands working the wood. “The bedroom is our bedroom. All of us, Even if I’m furious, we all stay there. No Emily’s room. No basement. If we do that there’ll be no hope.”

“Wouldn’t ask that of you, I know you’d do anything for me but that’s too much. Toby knows he screwed up, not getting word to us. He’s talking to Diane, pretty sure that’s decent punishment in its own right. But nether of us is going to push. I need to know what the hell was in that packet though. If it was enough for Tobias to give up everything, it can’t mean good things for our future.”

“Remember when we had that really wild week? You, me, Toby, in Toronto. Leashes, licking your boots, the rest? Only we knew it was a game, a joke, a bet. They threatened to expose that, but that was only the beginning. When Toby and I were with Diane we did some stupid bondage games too, including her with a strap on. They have all that in the file. What else is in there is fabricated, but it’ll bury us.”

Tony sighed, running a hand through his hair.“If I had even remotely thought they’d find us, I never would have agreed to play that way. We all knew it was a scene, obviously they either don’t know or don’t care.” Whoever wanted to bring them down obviously had been doing their homework. If they had pictures of the guys with Diane, this was obviously a long term issue. “Who hates you and Toby enough to do this Jet? And what can we do to make sure that they pay for it?”

Jethro gave Tony a long look. “Leon Vance. I’m sure it is him. He suspected, came on to me, I wasn’t interested, let him down easy. Not easily enough. He’s the only one who could know, Tony. Beside Diane. And Diane wouldn’t shit in her own nest. And who shows up today like the fucking cavalry. Leon Vance.”

“What are we going to do about it then? Can we take him out? After what he did to me, I’d be happy to pull the trigger. We sweet talk Abby, offer to let her watch one night and she’ll make sure none of us are caught.” Tony had never heard the name of the man who came in and removed Jenny today. That was the last time he was caught unawares. He’d find out every last speck of dirt out there on the man, and bring him down. “We might want to bring her in anyway. Don’t know anyone besides McGeek better on a computer. I’d say bring Timmy in, but he might be shocked at what he sees. Abby will take it in stride.”

“We will take him out, Tony, it just has to be a matter of how. I don’t know that we can rely on Jen.” He drew in a couple of deep breaths. “Call Abby and McGee, Tony. We’re going to pull them in now. I’m going to calm the hell down and then figure out Jen’s involvement. I think she’s clean, but she should be kept out anyway. They all have way too much on her and the Frog and that makes her a weak link. We’ll save Ziva for the moment.”

He gave Tony a gentle smile. “Guess we’re outing ourselves to everyone who matters. You okay with that?”


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jethro sighed, meeting Tony’s eyes again. “Are you sure you’re okay with us outing ourselves. Your playboy image, the rest of it, will be gone, at least to our closest friends. And all because of Leon Fucking Vance.”

“Abby isn’t going to care. If I had to guess, she’ll find it exciting and will have lots of suggestions for us. She’s the position queen, and she’s happy to share the wealth. McGeek will be shocked.” Tony didn’t figure that Tim would have a real problem with it, as long as they left him out of the sexual banter that Abby would be instigating. “We’ll have to let Jen know at some point, but the longer we can keep her out the better. She deserves a chance to take the bastard down. He removed her from her office, railroaded her agents and you know Madam Director doesn’t like it when anyone other than her fucks with her agents.”

Jethro nodded, mentally changing the plans. “I’ll call, you get Toby up to speed, make sure he’s okay with us having guests.” He ran a hand over Tony’s cheek. “We’re gonna get through this, Batman.”

“Does that make you Robin? Wouldn’t mind seeing you in tights and not much else. In the privacy of our own house, once we install black out curtains and make sure that we do a sweep of the house ensuring we have no bugs and cameras. Not going to give them anything else to burn us on.”

“Superman, Babe, to hear Emily say it. You know what she calls Toby? Underdog because he’s small and has no hair, sometimes Spiderman too.” Jethro pulled Tony into a tight hug. “Go see to Toby, okay? I know it’s a lot to ask. I guess I better let you drag that TV in sometime soon.”

“Wow, almost get framed for murder a second time and I start to get concessions like that. Should let it happen more often.” Tony watched Jet for a minute, taking in the easy movements. “It’s somehow going to work out you know. Might not be the same as it was before, but we’ll make it out of this together. I’m not giving up either of you, not because some fuck head decided they wanted you more. He’s going down.”

“He’s going down,“ Jethro agreed softly, but he wasn’t so sure about their relationship. “It’ll work out.” He knew Tony didn’t believe the tone in his voice any more than he did. “All I can promise is that I’ll try. When I thought he’d…” Jethro didn’t allow himself to finish voicing the thought. “Yeah…anyway, go. He doesn’t need to be alone now.” Jethro reluctantly let Tony go, mussing his hair.

“You know how I feel about you, right, Tony?”

“Yeah, I know, Boss. Don’t you worry bout me.” Tony blew a girly kiss from the middle of the staircase, before heading all the way up into the living room to find Tobias.

“I love you…” Jethro said into the empty room, hoping Tony knew—really knew—how much he loved him.

As soon as Tony had disappeared up the stairs, Jethro flipped his phone open and dialed Abby, feeling more relieved now that they were starting to get a plan together.

“Boss, where the hell did you go? No one can find you, no one can find the Director. And I mean the real director, not the ass puppet that some idiot put in her chair.” Abby motioned to McGee, stopping him from walking out of her lab. “I’ve got Timmy here; we’re trying to figure out what we need to be doing. What do you want us to do?”

“Jen isn’t around? Has anyone called her?” Fuck, this was a complication he didn’t need, but couldn’t focus on at the moment either.

“Abby, I got Tony out of there. We’re at my place. Bring McGee but not Ziva, not yet. Get over here as fast as you can with whatever electronic equipment you think you’ll need. I have an adventure for you technical types. And I’m telling you up front, Fornell is here too. Don’t get in his face until I tell you the facts. And this all stays off the record, so if you have any equipment for that, bring it, Abbs. Are you and McGee in?”

“I am. He will be when I tell him he is. You know, I’m the one who cracks the whip in this relationship. I’ll bring over as much as I can, may need to swing by my place. I don’t bring all my super secret computer tricks to the office. Need to be able to wow you with my brilliance, so I never show all my cards at once.” 

Abby grabbed a notepad from her desk, and quickly started writing down what she’d need from around the lab handing it to Tim to gather. “Do you guys need anything else? Food, caffeine, change of underwear for Tony maybe? That offer is for you and Tony, not for Fornell. Don’t want to know what tighty whitey brand that man wears for him to be so uptight. What else do you need?”

“You always wow me,” Jethro said in a low voice. “Yeah, food and caffeine are good. Got Tony covered, Abbs. It’ll make sense when you get here.” He let out a relieved breath. “Get here double time, Abbs. Tony needs us.”

Tim gave Abby a concerned look when she hung up. “Gibbs? He has Tony?”

“Yeah, we need to get everything on that list, and get over to Gibbs’ house with dinner. He’s got Fornell there too, which makes no sense to me.” Abby shrugged, knowing she’d get an acceptable answer as soon as they got to Gibbs’ place. “I don’t know what’s going on, but he wants us both in. I told him I’d take care of you. I don’t know what’s going on, but something major is going down. And we’re going to make sure nothing happens to our team.”

“Fornell? Are you serious? Come on, let’s go.” Tim pulled Abby’s hand. “Where are we stopping? Fast food? Barbeque? Gallon of coffee for Gibbs? What does Tony need, any idea? How is he doing? Ziva said…should we get Ziva? She told me that Tony told Jeanne it was all a lie.”

“No, not Ziva. Not yet. Gibbs wants just the two of us for now. I don’t know what is going on, but it’s got to be big, Tim.” Abby looked around the lab once, but was pleased to see that McGee had gathered everything she had requested. “We’ll stop for pizza; Tony doesn’t need anything. I didn’t push the boss; he sounded a little on edge. Didn’t want to make it worse. He’ll tell us if him and Tony need anything else when I get there.”

“I bet he’s got his hands full with Tony right now.” Tim really was concerned about Tony. He’d changed a lot since he’d started dating Jeanne and Tony looked haunted a lot of the time.

"I'm sure. I can't imagine what was going through his head. To be framed for murder once is something that you'll never forget and probably never get over. It happens a second time, and I don't think any of us could know how much it would screw with his head." Abby couldn't help but wonder if some of her hometown juju was coming to bite Tony in the ass. "We'll get him better, as much as we can. He's got us and we need to make sure this doesn't happen a third time

Tim placed the order for three large pizzas as he and Abby carried the stuff to his car. They’d leave hers here for now. Tim felt this urgency to get to Tony though he wouldn’t admit it. It sounded stupid and would just open himself up to ridicule.

Jethro dialed Ducky next. Duck was a damn good student of psychology and they needed him, both for his knowledge and even keel. As soon as he picked up, Jethro began talking. “Duck. My place. I have Tony here and I could use you.”

“Is he doing well, Jethro? After what just happened, I can’t say I’d blame him if he were falling apart. The poor woman is delusional to believe Tony was at the root of her father’s death. The poor boy must be a wreck, having to go through that, and then face down the woman to try and give her closure.” Ducky hadn’t seen what happened, but he had heard about it from Abby, who heard about it from dear Timothy, who may or may not have seen what happened. “Our boy has grown up considerably since joining us. I’m proud of him.”

“I’m taking care of him best I know how, Duck. I couldn’t be prouder of him.” Jethro’s voice started to crack and he swallowed. “Bring some of your expensive liquor along, Duck. You may need it. We’ve got a lot to talk about.” Jethro said a quiet goodbye and started to dial Jen when his phone rang. “Diane? Emily doing okay?”

“She’s fine, Jethro. She’s concerned that you and Batman are mad at her, but I’m trying to work through that. It’s you I wanted to talk to though.” Diane smiled that Jethro asked about her daughter first. He was a great dad and she wondered once again what could have happened between them. “Are you doing okay? I talked to Tobias, and it sounds like you two are having some sort of issue. What do you two think you’re doing? I didn’t get divorced twice so you two could screw it up.”

“Batman…” Toby had told her. And the fact that she was talking to him was a good sign too. “You don’t need to worry about me, Diane. I’m not the one put through the wringer today.” His ex had a way of touching him still after all this time. “Worry about Toby, Di. He’s made some choices and taken some stands today. No turning back. He shook us up bad, but…we’ll make it.”

He took a deep breath. “You get someplace safe, Diane, and make sure our girl doesn’t worry too much. We’re gonna have to send you away for a week to the place of your choice. Can I say hi, let Em know she’s okay?”

"We're already on the way to the airport, Toby left us emergency money and passports, in case something like this ever happened. Never really thought we'd need it, but he keeps the passport pictures updated. Em thinks we're going on a special vacation to celebrate her last report card. She doesn't know anything's wrong, and I think it's best to keep it that way. Toby thought it was best. I expect the two of you to take care of one another. Emily needs you both." 

Diane watched her daughter in the back seat of the car, oblivious to anything going on. "I'll hand her over to you, just keep it light. She's too young to really get that her daddy and her papa do dangerous things for a living. I'd like to keep it that way as long as I can."

“Of course, Di. And thank you.”

"Papa, are you and Tony mad at me?" Emily had never been sent away to her mom’s house before, but today her bag was packed when she got back from school. "I didn't mean to do bad things. Can I come home?"

When she called him Papa, his heart always flooded and gentled, even when things were this bad. “Hey, Emily, you did nothing wrong. Remember what I told you? Your Mom just needs a little extra love and you’re the love bunny who gives it to her best. You can come home in a couple of days, but Mom needs you to be snuggly for now and we don’t want to hurt her, right? Maybe Dad and I can surprise you guys later on. We owe you something special for that great report card, don’t we? Do you think you’re responsible enough to have a pet?”

They had been talking about getting Emily a rabbit, or a cat. Maybe it was time. “Tony is sorry he’s quiet, honey. He’ll be silly when you get back, I promise.”

"Can I get a kitty and a puppy?" Emily knew when to ask for more than being offered, and this was one of those times. "You forgot my last report card was really really good too. I didn't get any Bs then either. That's a lot of As. Maybe one for each report card. Tony can help me pick them out, maybe that will make him feel better. Is he sick? Is that why he's sad?"

“I took you to tea. That wasn’t good enough? You’re a little scamp.” She made Jethro laugh and he needed that today. “Tell ya what, Emily. When you get back, we’ll have a family meeting, see what we can work out. How many pets we should get. And no, Tony’s not sick. He’s just had a hard day at work, honey. That’s all. We’ll get some ice cream into him and let him watch one of his favorite movies and you’ll see. As soon as you get back, he’ll be silly Batman all over again.”

“I loved going to tea, and that you had to get all dressed up like Uncle Ducky said you did. You were so cute in your suit, and the way you kept trying to loosen your tie.” Her uncle kept scolding her papa about manners and sitting still. Granny Victoria kept pinching him though, which made him wiggle more. “I’d like to do that again too. But I want a pet just as much. We’ll talk when I get home, as long as Tony agrees. I don’t want him to be any more sad than he is. Can he call me while we’re on vacation?”

“A pet is different. Tea is an event. A pet is a lifetime responsibility. While you have memories of a nice tea, you’ll have a pet you can cuddle for years to come. Just promise me you won’t name anything after me.” Jethro paused for a moment. “Honey, you have Mom write down this number, or you do it yourself. It’s Tony’s special Batphone. You call him right now. Surprise him. You’ll make him really happy and turn his frown upside down.”

“I can really do that? Hold on, let me find something to write with.” After getting a pen from her mother’s purse, she balanced the phone with her shoulder and was ready. “Go ahead, Papa. I’m ready. I want to talk to Tony, tell him not to be sad.”

Jethro recited the number of Tony’s secured throwaway phone. “You call him for Papa, honey, okay? He needs to hear his Emmy Bear.”

“I will, Papa. Love you. Take care of daddy and Tony for me. I don’t want any thing to happen to any of you.”

“Nothing will happen, Emily. We all love you, Sunshine, me most of all.”


End file.
